Cute kids

Our school has started "mileage club" after school a couple days each week. The kids walk around the field and get a stick for each lap. It gets recorded each day they do it and then once their total reaches a certain amount, the kids can get their picture taken for the "Hall of fame". Since Ted isn't playing soccer this season, he is really enjoying this. He has set a goal and written down the days for mileage club on a calendar even. He is now up to 33 laps after 3 days. He asks his PE teacher each time about the picture since he had enough for the first goal after 2 days. Nate has done 20 laps and Harrison has done 19 so far.

The 4th and 5th graders have also been having tryouts for the district track and field event. Ted qualified for the 200 m so he's excited about that. He wanted to celebrate with root beer floats tonight.

While Bob and Ted went to their den meeting tonight, Harrison and Nate and I went to the grocery store (for ice cream and root beer). As we were driving home, Nate noticed the police car in front of us in the turn lane. Nate asked, "Who is he trying to catch?" I tried to explain that the police aren't always running after bad guys but there are just out driving around. Nate kept asking questions and Harrison was apparently bothered by it. He told Nate that I wasn't a professional that knew everything. Nate said, "I know, but she knows a lot."

Our Saturday

Bob and Ted left Friday afternoon for Grand Island, NE. They went to help Bob's uncle go through items at the house there so it can be sold. The younger 2 boys and I had a fun Saturday. Nate had his first soccer game of the season. He scored a goal close to the end of the game. It's always fun to watch the games at this age because you never know what they are going to do. One minute, they don't seem to be paying attention but then there are moments where they are focused on getting the ball to the goal.

After the game, we got lunch and decided to eat at Subway. Then, we went to the Veterinary Hospital where they were having an open house. They had an area set up for kids with a petting zoo and other activities. The boys loved the baby goats and Harrison got to hold one. They also got to dress up to do "mock surgery" on stuffed animals. Harrison did it first and Nate said he didn't want to do it. As Harrison finished, Nate then said he wanted to do it. Luckily, it wasn't too busy so we didn't have to wait in line.

They also had a table with vet students making balloon animals. The students asked the kids what they wanted. Obviously, they don't have kids and they hadn't done this before. Otherwise, they would have given them a couple options. Harrison first asked for a shark. Then he asked for a lion. One gal tried to make a lion but then said she could make him something else when it didn't turn out quite right. He asked for a golden retriever. That is so Harrison that he wouldn't simply ask for a dog.

Harrison wanted HuHot for dinner so we went there since we hadn't had it in a while. We saw the boys' principal eating there with her family too. I saw her when we walked in. After we were sitting for a while, I asked the boys if they saw anyone they know. They hadn't seen her so then I told them where she was sitting. It was cute that they had walked right by her without noticing.

Bob and Ted surprised us by arriving home early Sunday morning. We were able to go to Mass together and then Bob took Nate while the rest of us went to religious ed. The 2nd graders have been crazy lately so it was good that I didn't have to worry about having Nate with me while I taught the class. We only have 2 more classes before First Communion on April 29th.

Grand Canyon

The highlight of the trip to Sedona was going to the Grand Canyon. The boys didn't really enjoy the drive there (it was about 2 1/2 hrs to get there) but they agreed that it was worth the trip. Ted wanted to hike down into the canyon but we were too far from the trail and didn't find it until we had walked 1.5 miles along the rim. Bob and Ted walked ahead while I stayed with Harrison and Nate since they couldn't go as fast. Bob and Ted walked back to the van and we waited for them to pick us up. We spent 2-3 hours at the Grand Canyon but there is so much to see there that we could have easily spent more time there. We'll definitely have to go again so we can see more and maybe do some hiking down into the canyon (although, I probably should get into better shape first).

Hiking in the red rocks

After visiting the chapel of the holy cross, we looked for a hiking trail. It was a 2 mile loop so it was just right for us. Nate was a little tired toward the end but he made it fine.

Time to go back to the room and take a bath! I also did some laundry--it was so nice having a washer and dryer in our unit.

Chapel of the Holy Cross

We went to the Chapel of the Holy Cross today. These pictures were taken just outside the chapel.

Vacation--day 2

We checked into the resort last night and we're happy with our room. We have 2 bedrooms, a living area, and a kitchen. We brought some cereal, snacks, and other items to eat this week. I went to the grocery store last night and picked up lunchmeat, bread, and milk. It'll help so we don't have to eat out every night. The boys are excited to have their own space with a tv. We've found some of the snacks in their room--it's like they've set up their own bachelor pad.

We decided to go to Tuzigoot National Monument today and we ran a couple errands in the town of Cottonwood while we were there. We really enjoyed the monument and reading about the Sinagua people. Nate wasn't as impressed...lots of signs and that's not too exciting when you can't read.

Spring break!

We haven't had a true family vacation in a few years. We've done some camping and we've gone to visit family at least once a year but let's face it, those don't really count. The boys and I were off this week for spring break so we planned a vacation and Bob took the week off too. We have the timeshare so we decided on Sedona, AZ since it was close enough to drive there.

Our boys are good travelers...especially when they have their handheld games. Nate didn't have one and we had been thinking about getting it for his birthday next month. We decided to give him an early present so he would have it for this trip so he got a 3DS.

We left on Saturday morning, March 10. We decided to take I-25 down to I-40 across New Mexico. We stayed in Holbrook, AZ that night. We were only about 20-25 miles from the Petrified Forest/Painted Desert so we spent some time there on Sunday before we traveled the rest of the way to Sedona (we couldn't check in until 4 pm).

A conversation between brothers

Nate: Ted, can we watch Scooby Do?

Ted: No, we don't have it.

Nate: Well, we could download it!

Harrison: (sigh) 4 yr olds.

Lent begins

It's Ash Wednesday and so lent begins. We have created a few family traditions in the last few years during this time of fasting, prayer, and alms giving. Last year, we used beans to encourage sacrifice and good deeds. As the boys would do something nice, they would add a bean to a jar and then on Easter the beans were replaced with jelly beans. This year we decided to do something similar but instead we made a crown of thorns. We made ours from a salt dough and then put toothpicks in it. For each sacrifice, they will remove a toothpick. Hopefully all of the toothpicks will be removed before Easter. We will decorate the crown for Easter with jewels or flowers.

Maybe I should have made the crown out of playdough instead. The salt dough looks a little like bread dough. Every male in this house asked if it was something we could eat. It didn't surprise me too much but it did make me laugh a little when they all asked about it.

We have not been doing a good job of teaching and praying the rosary to our kids. We hope to say a decade of the rosary together each night. Nate does not know the prayers well enough yet to really be able to join us completely but we'll continue to try (and that's why we'll only say one decade with him).

Happy 8th Birthday, Harrison

Today was Harrison's birthday. He brought muffins for a snack at school. Bob's dad and stepmom came for a visit this afternoon. We went to dinner at Red Robin tonight so Harrison got a sundae there. Then, we came home for cake and ice cream. We had a fun afternoon and evening.

Harrison's birthday party

Harrison turns 8 this Tuesday, the 21st. We had his party today at Jumpin'. It was a bit crazy there today. There were so many people and parties at the same time but I think the kids had fun. With 3 of our birthdays within a month (Ted, me, and Harrison), I have really learned to focus on keeping the parties simple. All the kids really want is some cake, drinks, snacks, and to just run around and have fun. I made cupcakes and then we had chips, pretzels, strawberries, apples, and carrots to snack on. We gave each child a toy from the Dollar store instead of doing a goody bag. The party planning didn't seem as stressful this year as it sometimes is for me.

Curious Nate

I am really enjoying this time with Nate before he heads off to kindergarten next year. I know I'm going to miss the little chatterbox. He loves to talk and ask questions.

On Monday, he learned that Doug died after a tractor fell on him. Before this, I had only told him it was an accident. I wasn't sure if he was ready to know the whole truth. He seems to be doing ok, though. He was still excited to go to his tractor class this morning too.

After his class, we went to the post office and then decided to get lunch before taking the van for an oil change. I opted for the McDonald's closest to the dealer. As I was parking, Nate asked, "Are you sure this is a real McDonald's?" I guess it looked a little different and he wanted to make sure I wasn't trying to slide something past him.

Nate also asked me today about the day that Daddy picked him up from daycare. It's been a couple weeks now and this is the first time he has asked me about that. I told him that was the day that Lana's husband, Doug, died. I know he is a smart boy but it still amazes me when he asks something that I wouldn't have expected him to still be thinking about.

My baby is growing up

My baby is registered for kindergarten. I'll have all 3 boys at the same school next year. I tend to think it's going to hit me harder next fall knowing that Ted will only be there that year before moving on the middle school.

Nate was a little unsure about registration. He didn't want to get out of the van when we got to the school. He reminds me of Ted when he does that. I think he was worried about when he was going to have to start. I told him it won't be until next year. Harrison tried to help me and said it's this year, not next year. Nate was fine once we got in the school and he saw another family we know.

Nate is also taking a class at The Farm. It's on Thursday mornings this month (so only 3 times). It's a class about tractors...which is why I haven't told him everything about what happened to Doug (Lana's husband). I had to drag him to his class this morning. He gets nervous when he doesn't know what to expect. He was fine once he saw the tractor toys to play with. As we were walking to our van afterwards, he asked me when he gets to go back to tractor class.

Pictures of our 10 yr old

10 years old!

We had a good weekend. Ted's first basketball game was yesterday at 8 am. His team lost by quite a bit but Ted said that he had fun playing. Nate and I went to the game while Bob and Harrison stayed home. Nate took most of the pictures while we were there. Ted is wearing the yellow jersey and red shorts. They don't match well but it's easy to spot him in the pictures.

Ted's birthday party was at 4 at Kidz Fit. I only took a few pictures--when they were eating cupcakes and the snacks. They ran around most of the time we were there.

Today, we went to Mass and then we let Ted skip religious ed. class. Ted worked on his Pinewood Derby car with Bob (and Nate) while I was teaching Harrison's class. We had a relaxing afternoon. The boys played outside with a friend since it was so nice out and they also worked a little more on their cars. Ted decided to have Chipotle for dinner and then we had cake and ice cream at home tonight.